Dogs want to keep their teeth too!
Well, most of them do, but many elderly and geriatric dogs haven't got any. This unfortunate dog's situation is usually the result of over loving and incorrect feeding over a sustained period of time.
So, what is happening?
Dog owners love their dogs, usually. Unfortunately that love is often given from a false premise and that premise is that dogs are some sort of odd looking human. Dogs are dogs and not humans with four legs. They do not have our emotions or values just as we humans do not have their senses of hearing or smell. Yet many dog owners seem to forget this!
Dogs are carnivores, period. How often have you heard a proud pet owner announces "my dog/cat never eats meat. He's vegetarian" what they really mean is that they are vegetarian therefore their pet is as well. Of course the poor animal never eats meat � it never gets any!
Dog's teeth are designed for ripping, tearing and crushing. In the wild a kill provides not only food but a good dental work over as well. Skin, bones, fur, flesh and sinew altogether provide a natural scouring and cleaning effect on the teeth and gums. Don't try this at home.
Domesticated dogs tend not to have to kill their dinner and rely on a commercially prepared dog food, usually of the biscuit meal type, to do the dental clean up for them. Having dog chews and toys also helps. But, dogs fed on a highly refined and high sugar and carbohydrate diet such as human junk food will soon develop tooth decay and gum disease inevitably ending up with a miserable dog and an expensive visit to the veterinary surgery. Very few vets have access to, the ability or the inclination to carry out veterinary dentistry so the usual result will be extraction.
Giving dogs some sweets is fine, nothing wrong with that, as long as they are an occasional treat or as a reward for good behaviour etc but not as a main part of their diet. Something else to be aware of � dogs love chocolate but did you know that it is actually poisonous to dogs? Give your dog enough and you will kill him, how's that for kind love?
It is often advised that you should brush your dog's teeth daily. Fine, as long as you've started doing this from them being a very young puppy. We have a big black Labrador and little dynamo of a Patterdale terrier. Our black lab would let me pull his jaws apart and probably let me stick my head in quite safely but I doubt that I could even get the terriers lips apart never mind his jaws and the idea of getting my fingers anywhere near his teeth is unthinkable � a tooth brush would last about two seconds. If you do start your dog off young don't ever use human tooth paste. You might think it tastes lovely and your mouth feels fresh but to him it's absolutely foul! Remember, his sense of taste is vastly different to yours!
Keeping your dogs teeth and gums healthy is really quite simple: - feed them the correct food, not human refined food. Give them something to chew on, a chair leg is pretty good but a proper dog chew is cheaper. Get their teeth checked out and cleaned regularly by a good vet before problems arise.
Simple
And remember, a dog in the wild with bad teeth is a dead dog.
Well, most of them do, but many elderly and geriatric dogs haven't got any. This unfortunate dog's situation is usually the result of over loving and incorrect feeding over a sustained period of time.
So, what is happening?
Dog owners love their dogs, usually. Unfortunately that love is often given from a false premise and that premise is that dogs are some sort of odd looking human. Dogs are dogs and not humans with four legs. They do not have our emotions or values just as we humans do not have their senses of hearing or smell. Yet many dog owners seem to forget this!
Dogs are carnivores, period. How often have you heard a proud pet owner announces "my dog/cat never eats meat. He's vegetarian" what they really mean is that they are vegetarian therefore their pet is as well. Of course the poor animal never eats meat � it never gets any!
Dog's teeth are designed for ripping, tearing and crushing. In the wild a kill provides not only food but a good dental work over as well. Skin, bones, fur, flesh and sinew altogether provide a natural scouring and cleaning effect on the teeth and gums. Don't try this at home.
Domesticated dogs tend not to have to kill their dinner and rely on a commercially prepared dog food, usually of the biscuit meal type, to do the dental clean up for them. Having dog chews and toys also helps. But, dogs fed on a highly refined and high sugar and carbohydrate diet such as human junk food will soon develop tooth decay and gum disease inevitably ending up with a miserable dog and an expensive visit to the veterinary surgery. Very few vets have access to, the ability or the inclination to carry out veterinary dentistry so the usual result will be extraction.
Giving dogs some sweets is fine, nothing wrong with that, as long as they are an occasional treat or as a reward for good behaviour etc but not as a main part of their diet. Something else to be aware of � dogs love chocolate but did you know that it is actually poisonous to dogs? Give your dog enough and you will kill him, how's that for kind love?
It is often advised that you should brush your dog's teeth daily. Fine, as long as you've started doing this from them being a very young puppy. We have a big black Labrador and little dynamo of a Patterdale terrier. Our black lab would let me pull his jaws apart and probably let me stick my head in quite safely but I doubt that I could even get the terriers lips apart never mind his jaws and the idea of getting my fingers anywhere near his teeth is unthinkable � a tooth brush would last about two seconds. If you do start your dog off young don't ever use human tooth paste. You might think it tastes lovely and your mouth feels fresh but to him it's absolutely foul! Remember, his sense of taste is vastly different to yours!
Keeping your dogs teeth and gums healthy is really quite simple: - feed them the correct food, not human refined food. Give them something to chew on, a chair leg is pretty good but a proper dog chew is cheaper. Get their teeth checked out and cleaned regularly by a good vet before problems arise.
Simple
And remember, a dog in the wild with bad teeth is a dead dog.
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